Geocaching!

Have you ever been Geocaching?  Now, that is great fun and adventure!  If you haven't heard of Geocaching, you should go to the website and check it out....www.geocaching.com.  Today Hollie, Katie & I went on our first Geocache adventure with our expert Geocachers, Brenda and Terry.  We had such a great time on our treasure hunt and I can't wait to go again!  My own personal handheld GPS is in the mail!! (No, Katie is NOT blind...the stick was just too handy when walking and poking around in the leaves!)  Thank you Brenda and Terry for the fun, fellowship and starter instructions for the beginning of a new hobby I can do here, there and everywhere!

52 Years and Counting!

We had the pleasure of celebrating with our sweet friends, Bernadine and Wes Cantrell as they celebrated their 52nd Wedding Anniversary Monday night!  They are a wonderful couple and it is clear that they are still very much in love with each other! We so very much enjoyed celebrating with them and spending the evening together.  Happy Anniversary, Bernadine and Wes!

Another President?

Are all of our friends the President of something?  It looks that way!  This is Ed Litton, President of the Pastor's Conference of the SBC for the 2009 Annual Meeting.  Ed is also Pastor of the FBC of North Mobile, AL.  His sweet wife, Tammy, was a good friend of mine and was killed in an automobile accident in August 2007.  We really miss her.  Ed preached at our church this past Sunday night and did an incredible job!  We love Ed Litton!

Joy is Back!

I am so glad that Joy is finally back in town!!!  I have really missed her!  Joy Goodwin Wilson's husband, Brad, has graduated and they are currently in Canton, at least for now.  She is such a great photographer, as she trained under one of the best I have ever known, being Faith Sims!  Johnny needed some new photos made and Joy was kind enough to meet us after church on Sunday (since Johnny was dressed in his Sunday best) and took some great shots of him!  Who knows, you may see him one day on the Wall of Presidents in Nashville!  If you need any type of photography done, Joy is WONDERFUL...and I am sure she could use the work!!  Joywilsonphotography.com

A Wonderful & Fun Family!

We are long time friends of Ricky and Dr. Cathy Morris going back to our Wilmington days.  It was great to share a dinner with them on Saturday night.  They are a wonderful family!  It has always amazed me how Ricky enjoys being at home with the children and even home schools them while Cathy has a practice in Internal Medicine and is a fantastic doctor.  Also, Ricky is a g-r-e-a-t cook!  Definitely a 'jack of all trades!'  Thanks for the wonderful meal and great fellowship!

Happy Birthday, Judy!

Happy Birthday!  While Johnny was at the Men's Conference......I was celebrating with my friend, Judy Thomas!  Happy Birthday, Judy!

6,000 Men?

I have never seen so many men in one building in all my life!!  That was a sight to behold!  And of course, Johnny wasn't even nervous about it all!  I was scared for him though.  My husband is the greatest guy in all the world.  The men at the Temptation Island Men's Conference were so fortunate to sit under such a Godly man as he.  He is truly a 'man after God's own heart!'  Another conference this weekend with another packed house!  I love my husband!

Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Donna C. and Katie D.!

Thank Heaven for Little Girls....and Talented Friends without Grandchildren!  Donna Cheek and Katie Deese are a God-send!!  Little Addie wanted to have a tea party for her birthday and Donna and Katie volunteered to do everything!  They did such a fabulous job!  Right down to the personalized tea cup/cup cake with cookie saucer with each child's name on the saucer!  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!  These picture do not do justice to the beauty of it all!  Donna even had the girls spellbound with a story about a little girl having tea with the Queen....and of course, the queen was her grandmother!!!  I knew it!!  The girls all had such a great time and I believe that Katie and Donna did too (even though they worked tirelessly on the project!)  THANK YOU KATIE AND DONNA not only for a great party, but for loving little Addie and little Hope like you do!  (You too, Mr. Cheek!) A little hint:  I think they would consider doing this again....for you and even at their house in their ballroom!  Just ask!  Of course, there may be a small fee...but well worth it!

Happy Birthday, Addie!

Five years old today

She loves her papa...such a brown-noser!

Two....of the Many Presidents!

It was our pleasure to attend a conference this week with a group of missions pastors from some of our SBC churches from all over the country in Ft. Myers, Florida.  We had a great time with them and it was also nice to be with Dr. Jerry Rankin, President of the International Mission Board.  Another President, Dr. John Cross, President of the Florida Baptist State Convention, came and visited with us as well.  It is always good to see John....excuse me, Dr. Cross!  who is STILL single!

Back to Work!

Now that all the celebrating is over, it is time to get back to work.  We saw our first snow this winter as we made our first trip to Louisville, Kentucky to make plans for the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in June.  However, we didn't see the snow in Louisville, it was in Cincinnati, Ohio the same day, after we had our meeting at the convention center.  We flew from there for a VIP visit to the Creation Museum for lunch and a tour of that fabulous facility.  It is well worth taking time to go through if you are ever in the area.

And Then It Was Christmas!

And then it was Christmas.....Wes Cantrell dressed like a little girl and sang "Happy Birthday, Jesus", had Christmas parties, took a 'girl trip' to New York, had more Christmas parties, Hope broke her ankle, Hope didn't break her ankle after all, celebrated Christmas with the family as my brother, sister-in-law and their 4 of their 5 children and son-in-law (I won't tell you who the son-in-law is!) spent Christmas with us and we had a GREAT time! Gave birth to another Granddog....a large Granddog! But cute Granddog! And then went to Gatlinburg, again!  And recuperated!

Senior Staff Christmas Retreat!

We have too much fun!  That is how you describe our Staff Parties!  Our Christmas party was held 'retreat style' as we went to the Ranch for an overnight Christmas celebration thanks to our dear friends, Ann and Mike White, who so graciously hosted us.  We rode all- terrain vehicles, played ladderball, of course, ate, ate, ate, made fun of Jim, played Dirty Santa with gag gifts, experienced some of the most beautiful scenery in Georgia/Tennessee/Alabama, watched a dog pull a stump out of the lake all by himself and had a blast!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving was the best yet!  Lazy days on the beach, Katie and Carson taking salsa lessons (the cutest thing I have ever seen!), literally spending hours watching turtles hatch and being with my family  for the entire week made a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Okay! Okay! I'll Try!!

Okay! Okay! I'll Try!  But I can't promise you anything!  Updating after this long is not easy, but I'll give it a shot!  The last post was on my birthday and a lot has happened since then, but too much to write about so I'll just give you a briefing of what has happened since I turned 55!!  The next milestone event for me was the celebration of our 38th wedding anniversary.  Johnny and I celebrated in Mexico the week before our annual family vacation at Thanksgiving.  We had a great time together with friends in Punta Mita, Mexico. I am sure you know this by now, but I have the greatest husband in the universe!